The independence of Kosovo of course follows the secession of Montenegro from Serbia Montenegro in June 2006, even though Serbs and Montenegrins are one and the same people, speaking the same language and sharing the same religion andhistory.

On the other hand, the West opposes secessions when they do not suit it geopolitically. Bosnia Herzegovina is a case in point. When the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska called in September 2006 for a referendum to be held on the secession of Republiak Srpska from BosniaHerzegovina, the international community’s “High Representative” said that he would sack him unless he backed down. He did, but there is even now a crisis in Bosnia, as the new High Representative is trying to abrogate important parts of RS’ autonomy. Bosnia is an EU colony the 16,000 soldiers still stationed there (twelve years after the end of the war) are part of an EU military force – and the EU clearly does not want its territory to be divided.

Of course there is no question that an independent Flanders could be a viable state. In terms of population, Flanders is bigger than the historic nation states Denmark, Norway and Ireland, as well as than the more recently created states Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Cyprus, Maltaand obviously Luxembourg.